I’m Kristina, a freelance military reporter who writes regularly for the New York Times about business and the military. My stories have also appeared in the Atlantic Monthly, Playboy, Newsweek, Wired, Businessweek, Foreign Policy, Pacific Standard, AP, FoxNews.com and the New York Post. I’m also a U.S. Army veteran.

ON THE FRONT LINES WITH THE AFGHAN COMMANDOS BATTLING ISIS

When the Afghan National Army can’t finish a fight, needs to clear an area or is pinned down, it calls in the commandos, the nation’s best and perhaps final line of defense. Calls for the elite special-operations unit have come in faster and faster since late 2014, when the Taliban started to retake territory vacated by withdrawing U.S. troops and coalition partners. About half the country is currently under Taliban control, and more is on the verge of falling.

And now ISIS—has also moved in.

After years of fighting and training alongside America’s legendary Green Berets, the commandos are now on their own. They became used to their sugar daddy calling the shots and giving them money, arms, air support and intelligence when things got tight. Not anymore. Now they must run the show and operate better than their U.S. advisors—or risk a Taliban takeover.

But how long can an overworked force of 10,000 men hold together a country of 32 million people?

COULD YOU SURVIVE 5 WARS IN 10 YEARS?

Ron Capps, a U.S. Army intelligence officer and State Department foreign service officer, did. Barely. He served in Darfur, Rwanda, Iraq, Eastern Congo, Afghanistan and Kosovo and was a mess each time he came home. When he finally returned to the U.S. for good, writing was the only thing that could truly bring him home again.

Courtesy of Ron Capps

I wrote a lengthy profile of Ron and his fabulous creative writing group, The Veterans Writing Project, and how their work and those of other groups around the country are helping vets process their experiences, whether deeply traumatic or not, and start to live again. Writing gets you out of your head and forces you to put it into a story and provide an explanation of what you experienced.

In my 8,000-word story for the prestigious The Believer magazine, put out by Dave Eggers’ literary house McSweeney’s, I discuss Ron’s trajectory from a struggling active duty Army officer to a well-regarded writing professor who’s helped hundreds of vets around the country improve their health. Writing can help anyone live better whether they served in the military or not.

ON THE FRONT LINES WITH THE AFGHAN COMMANDOS BATTLING ISIS

When the Afghan National Army can’t finish a fight, needs to clear an area or is pinned down, it calls in the commandos, the nation’s best and perhaps final line of defense. Calls for the elite special-operations unit have come in faster and faster since late 2014, when the Taliban started to retake territory vacated by withdrawing U.S. troops and coalition partners. About half the country is currently under Taliban control, and more is on the verge of falling.

And now ISIS—has also moved in.

After years of fighting and training alongside America’s legendary Green Berets, the commandos are now on their own. They became used to their sugar daddy calling the shots and giving them money, arms, air support and intelligence when things got tight. Not anymore. Now they must run the show and operate better than their U.S. advisors—or risk a Taliban takeover.

But how long can an overworked force of 10,000 men hold together a country of 32 million people?

COULD YOU SURVIVE 5 WARS IN 10 YEARS?

Ron Capps, a U.S. Army intelligence officer and State Department foreign service officer, did. Barely. He served in Darfur, Rwanda, Iraq, Eastern Congo, Afghanistan and Kosovo and was a mess each time he came home. When he finally returned to the U.S. for good, writing was the only thing that could truly bring him home again.

Courtesy of Ron Capps

I wrote a lengthy profile of Ron and his fabulous creative writing group, The Veterans Writing Project, and how their work and those of other groups around the country are helping vets process their experiences, whether deeply traumatic or not, and start to live again. Writing gets you out of your head and forces you to put it into a story and provide an explanation of what you experienced.

In my 8,000-word story for the prestigious The Believer magazine, put out by Dave Eggers’ literary house McSweeney’s, I discuss Ron’s trajectory from a struggling active duty Army officer to a well-regarded writing professor who’s helped hundreds of vets around the country improve their health. Writing can help anyone live better whether they served in the military or not.

I’m Kristina, a freelance military reporter who writes regularly for the New York Times about business and the military. My stories have also appeared in the Atlantic Monthly, Playboy, Newsweek, Wired, Businessweek, Foreign Policy, Pacific Standard, AP, FoxNews.com and the New York Post. I’m also a U.S. Army veteran.

FEATURED ARTICLES

Once a Bright Spot, Afghan Telecoms Face Unsustainable Losses

New York Times |
Afghanistan is under siege from all corners. Cell phones seemed impervious to the country’s problems. Not anymore. +Read Article

Bootcamp for Bankers

New York Times |
Think you had a tough morning?

Think again. Employees at USAA, a bank that caters to the military, volunteer to work out at 0430 with retired and active duty drill sergeants to get a taste of what military life is like. +Read Article

Legal Outcome Uncertain for US POW

Architect, or Whatever

The New York Times |
A troubled economy and the implosion of the real estate market have thrown thousands of architects and designers out of work in the last year or so, forcing them to find or create jobs. +Read Article

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